Paul Bruemmer

I touched on meta-search engines in an earlier article, and want to provide more information because meta search can give you more visibility. The advantages of a meta-search is that one search can highlight the strengths of many top search sites like Google, Yahoo! and FAST AllTheWeb.

You can't get listed in meta-search engines because they don't sustain databases. You need to get properly listed in the majors first, and then if those engines supply meta-search engines with results (see source lists below), you'll appear in the respective meta-search queries.

Why such a fuss over meta-search? Until recently, traditional search engines indexed only a fraction of the coverage you got on meta-search. That is all changing with Google, AllTheWeb, and others indexing more of the "Deep Web" these days. But you do get more with meta-search because they query multiple databases..

MetaCrawler is one of the early search engines. Its searches include AltaVista, and LookSmart, in addition to the other databases listed below. MetaCrawler sorts and displays results by relevancy and eliminates duplications.

AltaVista: robot search engine

Direct Hit: question-asking directory (Ask Jeeves)

Excite: robot search engine

FindWhat: pay-for-placement search engine

Kanoodle.com: pay-for-placement engine

LookSmart: Internet directory

Open Directory: Internet directory

Overture: pay-for-placement search engine

Sprinks: pay-for-placement engine

WebCrawler: crawler-based search engine

Dogpile

Dogpile is also an old timer. Its searches include AltaVista, LookSmart, and Yahoo!, as well as the other databases listed below. Results are all-inclusive, sorted by search engine.

ah-ha: pay-for-placement search engine

AltaVista: robot search engine

Direct Hit: question-asking directory (Ask Jeeves)

Dogpile Web Catalog: robot search engine

ePilot.com: pay-for-placement search engine

FindWhat: pay-for-placement search engine

Kanoodle.com: pay-for-placement search engine

LookSmart: Internet directory

Open Directory: Internet directory

Overture: pay-for-placement search engine

RealNames: editorial/pay-for-placement system

SearchHippo.com: database allowing users to add free keyword listings

Sprinks: pay-for-placement engine

Yahoo!: Internet directory

Ixquick

Ixquick is new, powerful and fast, displaying excellent results. It provides a different source list for each query, depending on how the numerous search engines ranked the Web sites containing the queried term. A recent search for "video camera" will result in the source list below, which includes Yahoo!, LookSmart, AOL, MSN and more.

Ixquick uses a "star system" to determine relevancy. It works by awarding each found Web site one star for every search engine placing it in the top 10 for the query. It claims relevancy based on the concurrence of multiple search engines reaching the same results with different algorithms.

AllTheWeb: robot search engine

AltaVista: robot search engine

AOL: indexing engine

Excite: robot search engine

FindWhat: pay-for-placement search engine

LookSmart: Internet directory

Lycos: robot search engine

MSN: indexing engine

Open Directory: Internet directory

Overture: pay-for-placement search engine

Sprinks: pay-for-placement engine

Yahoo!: Internet directory

Mamma

Mamma bills itself as the "mother of all search engines." Its searches include LookSmart, Lycos and MSN. Mamma also provides numerous file types in their results, including MP3, image and video files. It uses the source list below, sorting and displaying results according to relevancy. Relevancy is determined first by rating the source engine (e.g., Yahoo! rated higher than Lycos), then by assigning weights and comparing and ranking the results from all the sources.

7Search.com: pay-for-placement search engine

About.com

Ah-ha: pay-for-placement search engine

BIGwhat.com: pay-for-placement search engine

Direct Hit: question-asking directory (Ask Jeeves)

Image:Include: Image search engine

Kanoodle.com: pay-for-placement engine

LookSmart: Internet directory

Lycos: robot search engine

Mamma Collections: proprietary database

MSN: indexing engine

Overture.com: pay-for-placement search engine

Sprinks: pay-for-placement engine

The quality of meta-search results are only as good as the sources the engines query. As they improve their capabilities and become more widely known, the number of users will continue to grow. Nielsen/NetRatings reported 23.4 million unique visitors used meta-search engines in October 2001.
January 14, 2002

Read by over 18,000 small business people, our free monthly newsletter delivers a digest of articles from the top search engine marketing experts. You will learn about:

getting better Google rankings

search engine optimization

link popularity

pay per click advertising

viral marketing

increasing traffic

contextual advertising

search engine submissions

brand building

making more sales

and much more...

Our free monthly newsletter is the perfect way to stay up to date with all of the latest trends, events and techniques in using search engines to grow your business and make more sales. Your email address will NOT be given to third parties.

FreeFind Site Search Engine - FreeFind adds a "search this site" feature to your website, making your site easier to use. FreeFind also gives you reports showing what your visitors are searching for, enabling you to improve your site. FreeFind's advanced site search engine and automatic site map technology can be added to your website for free.(Unpaid placement - FreeFind is a Search Engine Guide partner.)